Method of making a food package having a jacket partially surrounding it

ABSTRACT

A method of making a food package including a food package tray and a food package jacket. The method involves placing a food package tray on a mandrel such that the inner surface of the tray contacts at least a portion of the mandrel. After this, the food package jacket is placed on the food package tray so that the food package jacket partially surrounds the food package tray. The food package jacket is then secured to the food package tray to make the food package. An associated apparatus is also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/298,527, filed Aug. 30, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,703, entitledFOOD PACKAGE INCLUDING A FOOD PACKAGE TRAY PARTIALLY SURROUNDED BY AFOOD PACKAGE JACKET AND AN ASSOCIATED METHOD, the disclosure of which isexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of making a food package and anassociated apparatus, and more particularly to a method of making a foodpackage including a food package tray surrounded by a food packagejacket.

The above-cited application discloses a food package including a foodpackage tray surrounded by a food package jacket. That food packageprovides an attractive package with increased surface area to printindicia, such as food product information and nutritional information.That food package avoids the problems associated with prior art foodpackages, most notably the food package disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,090,615.

There is a need, however, to produce the food package disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 08/298,527, an automated, cost effective,efficient and speedy manner. The food packages should be able to beproduced in a stand alone factory or in combination with a food fillerline. The method for producing the food packages must be automated andefficient and above all, must produce enough food packages per unit timein order to minimize food packaging costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention disclosed herein has met the above needs. The method ofthe invention comprises providing a food package tray having a base anda sidewall extending from the base. The base has an outer surface and aninner surface opposite the outer surface. A food package jacket is alsoprovided which includes a bottom flap and at least one side flapextending from the bottom flap. The method further comprises placing thefood package tray on a support means such that a portion of the innersurface of the base contacts at least a portion of the support means andthen placing the food package jacket on the food package tray such thatthe food package jacket partially surrounds the food package tray. Themethod then comprises securing the food package jacket to the foodpackage tray to make the food package.

The apparatus of the invention comprises a first denester means forholding a plurality of nested food package trays and denesting anindividual food package tray from the plurality of nested food packagetrays and a second denester means for holding a plurality of nested foodpackage jackets and denesting an individual food package jacket from theplurality of nested food package jackets. Movable support meansoperatively associated with the first and second denester means areprovided which includes a movable belt and a plurality of individualmandrels mounted thereto. The mandrels are adapted to receive the foodpackage trays. The apparatus also comprises means operatively associatedwith the movable support means for securing the food package jackets tothe food package trays.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full understanding of the invention can be gained from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiment when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the apparatus used to make thefood package of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the movable support belt having mountedthereon the mandrels.

FIG. 3A is a detailed cross-sectional view of the heat seal die securingthe food package jacket to the food package tray.

FIG. 3B is a partial, detailed cross-sectional view of a different heatseal die securing another embodiment of a food package jacket to thefood package tray.

FIG. 3C is a partial, detailed cross-sectional view of yet another heatseal die securing yet another embodiment of a food package jacket to thefood package tray.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the food filling and liddingapparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The food package that is made by the method and apparatus of theinvention is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/298,527,which is specifically incorporated by reference herein. The food packageconsists of a food package tray, preferably made of plastic such ascrystallized polyethylene terephthalate or C-PETE partially surroundedby a food package jacket made of paperboard. The food package is adaptedto hold food products, such as "eat-out-of-box" frozen entrees anddesserts. As disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/298,527,the food package tray has a base and sidewall extending from the base.The base can be of any shape or size, and includes an outer surface andan inner surface opposite from the outer surface. The food packagejacket has a bottom flap and at least one side flap extending from thebottom flap. The side flap of the food package jacket is secured to thesidewall of the food package tray so that the food package jacketpartially surrounds the food package tray. The food package jacketprovides space for the printing of indicia, such as food productidentification indicia or nutritional information indicia.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an apparatus is shown for making the abovedescribed food package. The apparatus consists of a movable supportmeans such as an endless belt 20 driven by a drive roller 22 over anidler roller 24. Mounted on the belt 20 are a plurality of mandrels 30,31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37. The mandrels 30-37 are made of steel andmove along with the belt in the direction of arrow A. The mandrels eachinclude a sleeve 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47 whose purpose will beexplained hereinbelow.

The shape of the mandrel is dictated by the shape of the food packagethat is desired to be made. In this case, (as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and2) the mandrel, such as mandrel 30, has a generally square exposedsurface 50 that tapers outwardly to a base 52 which is mounted on thebelt 20. As can also be seen in FIG. 2, the sleeve 40 of the mandrelcircumscribes the outer surface 54 thereof to provide a continuoussleeve around the mandrel.

Referring back again to FIG. 1, the apparatus also includes a firstdenesting means 70 for holding a plurality of food package trays such asfood package tray 72 shown resting on mandrel 30. The food package traysare preferably made of crystallized polyethylene terephthalate("C-PETE"). The structure of food package tray 72 was discussed indetail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/298,527, but as can beseen in FIG. 1, includes a base 74 and a sidewall 76 extending from thebase. The base 74 has an outer surface 78 and an inner surface 80. Itwill be appreciated that as referred to herein, the outer surface 78 isthat surface which is exposed and the inner surface 80 is that surfaceon which the food product rests when the food product is placed into thefood package tray 72. The sidewall 76 includes a flange 82 having afirst section 84 extending generally perpendicularly from the sidewall76 and a second section 86 extending generally perpendicularly from thefirst section 84.

The food package trays 72 are designed such that a plurality of them maybe disposed in a nested relationship. The nested food package trays aresubsequently loaded into the denesting means 70. Denesting means 70 is aknown apparatus that is readily commercial available. The denestingmeans 70 denests an individual food package tray, such as food packagetray 72, and drops it on the mandrel 30, as is shown by the phantom linedrawing in FIG. 1. The denesting means 70 is operatively associated withthe belt 20 by means of an indexer (known to those skilled in the art)which times the drop of the food package tray onto the mandrel 30.

The food package tray 72 is dropped onto the mandrel 30 such that theinner surface 80 is in contact with the exposed surface 50 of themandrel 30. The food package tray sidewall conforms to and surrounds theupper portion of the mandrel 30 and is also supported thereby. Finally,the sleeve 40 of the mandrel is in contact with the first section 84 ofthe flange 82 of the sidewall 76.

The apparatus then comprises a second denesting means 90, also which isa known apparatus that is commercially available, which holds aplurality of nested food package jackets, such as food package jacket92. Food package jackets are preferably made of paperboard. Food packagejacket 92 is described in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/298,527, but includes a bottom flap 94, a first side flap 95 and asecond side flap 96. First side flap 95 includes an arm section 97 whichextends generally perpendicularly from side flap 95. The second sideflap 96 includes an arm section 98 which extends generallyperpendicularly from the side flap 96. The food package jacket 92 isdesigned to be secured to the sidewall 76 of the food package tray 72 insuch a manner as to partially surround the food package tray 72. Thesecond denesting means 90 is also operatively associated with the belt20 to deposit a denested food package jacket, such as food packagejacket 92 onto the food package tray 72 as shown by the phantom linedrawing in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the side flap 95 of the food package jacket 92 hasdisposed thereon a heat activated adhesive 99 and the arm section 97also includes a heat activated adhesive 101. The side flap 96 of thefood package jacket 92 has disposed thereon a heat activated adhesive102 and the arm section 98 also includes a heat activated adhesive 104.The adhesives are used to secure the food package jacket 92 to thesidewall 76 of the food package tray 72, as will be discussed below.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the apparatus further comprises ahydraulically operated heat seal die means 150 including a base 152, anhydraulic cylinder 154 and a movable heated die 156. The die 156includes a base portion 160 and heat sealing portions 161 and 162.Referring particularly to FIG. 3A, the heat sealing portions 161 and 162each have respective sections 163 and 164 which are forced into contactwith portions of side flaps 95 and 96 to melt the adhesives 99 and 102and are similarly forced into contact with portions of the arm sections97 and 98 to melt adhesives 101 and 104. The heat sealing portions applyheat through the side flaps and arm sections to melt the respectiveadhesives and thus secure the food package jacket to the food packagetray.

It will be appreciated that although a food package tray having a flange82 with a first section 84 and a second section 86, along with a foodpackage jacket 92 having an arm section 98 is shown, that the inventionis not limited to these configurations. Referring to FIG. 3B, a foodpackage jacket 92b is shown as having only side flaps 95b and 96b.Adhesive 99b is disposed on the side flap 95b to secure it to hesidewall 76b of the food package tray. Adhesive 102b is disposed on theside flap 96b to secure it to the sidewall 76b of the food package tray.The heat seal die means 150b includes a base section 160b and heatsealing portions 161b and 162b. The heat sealing portions 161b and 162beach have sections 163b and 164b which are forced into contact with theportion of the side flaps 95b and 96b that contain the adhesive 99b and102b. Sections 163b and 164b apply heat through the side flap 95b and96b to melt the adhesives 99b and 102b and thus secure the side flap 95band 96b to the sidewall 76b as can be seen in FIG. 3B.

Referring further to FIG. 3C, yet another embodiment is shown whereinthe food jacket 92c is shown having side flaps 95c and 96c and armsections 97c and 98c. Unlike the embodiment in FIG. 3A, however, thisembodiment shows only adhesives 101c and 104c which are disposed on thearm sections 97c and 98c. The heat seal die means 150c includes a basesection 160c and heat sealing portions 161c and 162c. The heat sealingportions 161c and 162c have sections 163c and 164c which are forced intocontact with the portions of the arm section 97c and 98c that containsthe adhesives 101c and 104c. Sections 163c and 164c apply heat throughthe side flaps 95c and 96c to melt the adhesives 101c and 104c and thussecure the side flaps 95c and 96c to the sidewall 76c as can be seen inFIG. 3C.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the completed food package is then droppedfrom the mandrel onto another endless belt means 200 for furtherprocessing. Referring now to FIG. 4, the food package is first filledwith a food product 202 deposited from reservoir 204 and then is liddedby food lidding apparatus 210 which drops a lid, such as lid 211 on thefood package tray. The lid is secured by known methods, such as using aheat seal die. It will be appreciated, however, that the construction ofthe food package allows for more efficient lidding of the product as wasexplained in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/298,527 and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/285,369, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference and U.S. patent application (AttorneyDocket No. 120693-19 Ser. No. 08/340,769). The final, lidded foodproduct 212 is then sent down the line for packing in shippingcontainers for shipment to food retailers, for example.

The method of the invention involves, providing a food package tray 72having a base 74 and a sidewall 76 extending from the base 74, the basehaving an outer surface 78 and an inner surface 80 opposite the outersurface and further providing a food package jacket 92 having a bottomflap 94 and at least one side flap 96 extending from the bottom flap.The food package tray 72 is placed on the mandrel 30 such that a portionof the inner surface 80 of the base 74 of the food package tray 72contacts at least a portion of the mandrel 30. The food package jacket92 is then placed on the food package tray 72 such that the food packagejacket 92 partially surrounds the food package tray 72. After this, thefood package jacket 92 is secured to the food package tray 72 to makethe food package.

It will be appreciated that a food package including a food package traypartially surrounded by a food package jacket and an associated methodis provided. The method and apparatus provide an efficient, costeffective, accurate and quick way to produce a food package having afood package tray and a food package sleeve surrounding the tray.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modificationsand alterations to those details could be developed in light of theoverall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particulararrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and notlimiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the fullbreadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a food packagecomprising:providing a food package tray having a base and a sidewallextending from said base, said base having an outer surface and an innersurface opposite said outer surface; providing a food package jackethaving a bottom flap and at least one side flap extending from saidbottom flap; placing said food package tray on support means such thatsaid inner surface contacts at least a portion of said support means;placing said food package jacket on said food package tray such thatsaid food package jacket partially surrounds said food package tray; andsecuring said food package jacket to said food package tray to make saidfood package.
 2. The method of claim 1, includingproviding firstdenester means to (i) hold a plurality of nested food package trays and(ii) denest an individual food package tray from said plurality ofnested food package trays; providing second denester means to (i) hold aplurality of nested food package jackets and (ii) denest an individualfood package jacket from said plurality of nested food package jackets;moving said support means to a position wherein said individual foodpackage tray can be placed on said support means from said firstdenester means; and subsequently moving said support means to a positionwherein said individual food package jacket can be placed on said foodpackage tray from said second denester means.
 3. The method of claim 2,includingmounting said support means to a movable belt.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, includingproviding a plurality of support means mounted on saidmovable belt.
 5. The method of claim 4, includingsaid movable belt is anendless belt.
 6. The method of claim 1, includingproviding a heatactivated adhesive on a portion of said sidewall; and securing said foodpackage jacket to said food package tray by a heat seal die.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, whereinsaid side flap includes an arm sectionextending therefrom, said sidewall includes a flange extending therefromproviding a heat activated adhesive on said arm section; and securingsaid arm section to said flange by said heat seal die.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, includingproviding said support means having sleeve extendingtherefrom; and placing said food package tray on said support means sothat said flange is adjacent to said sleeve such that said heat seal diecan press said arm section against said flange so as to adhesivelysecure said arm section to said flange.
 9. The method of claim 1,includingafter making said food package, filling said food package traywith a food product; and sealing said food package tray with a lid. 10.The method of claim 1, whereinsaid food package tray is made ofcrystallized polyethylene terephthalate.
 11. The method of claim 1,whereinsaid food package jacket is made of paperboard.